Last update: July 25, 2016
Knowing that you are loved is one of the best feelings you can experience. It is comforting. Energizing, almost. Knowing that they want to see you and talk to you, that they care to know how you are, that they have a sincere interest that is based on genuine appreciation. It is a wonderful feeling.
Sometimes, when we seem to have hit rock bottom, that person comes and saves us with a phone call, a caress or a look. Other times, to keep us afloat, a quick message or an affectionate greeting is enough to remind us that we are loved.
Knowing that we are present in someone's mind, that they care about us and that we are able to awaken emotions and feelings in other people is the best float, a lifesaver that, without a doubt, always makes us smile.
Love of others is a lifesaver
In the novel The Palace of the Moon by Paul Auster there is a passage that perfectly explains what we feel when the love of others pulls us out of that deep pit into which we have fallen and from which we cannot get out:
I didn't know it then, of course, but knowing what I know now, I certainly can't ignore those days without feeling a wave of nostalgia for my friends. To some extent, this alters the reality of what I experienced.
I had jumped off a cliff and, just as I was about to crash to the bottom, something extraordinary happened: I realized that there were people who loved me. Being loved like that changes everything.
There is no less fear of falling, yet it gives you a new perspective to understand what that fear means. I had jumped out and it was then, at the last moment, that something grabbed me in midair. That something is what I call love.
It's the only thing that can stop a man from falling, the only thing powerful enough to break the laws of gravity
As you can see from this splendid description, the love of those around us is our float, the life preserver that keeps us safe even when we are drowning and it seems that there is nothing more to be done.
Sincere love knows no selfishness and keeps itself away from interests
The genuine interest of those who love us does not know selfishness. It is a feature that we notice in the small details, which enchants us and allows us to maintain a bond with our emotional and relational world.
A world in which, at times, we feel like strangers, so far removed from reality that we forget, as Maslow said, that it is impossible to respond to needs or expectations if a part of the basis is not made up of love, brotherhood and that affection that binds us to those around us.
No matter what are the pillars that hold us up, we will always be lame if we do not feel that someone cares about us. In this way, when we do not perceive the presence of someone who awakens emotions in us, we feel sad and abandoned.
Our points of reference, the people we care about
To keep growing, we need to bond and nurture our roots, to ensure that beautiful leaves are born from our branches that represent love, health and prosperity. For our self-esteem and for the balance of our soul, it is essential to have reference points, pillars on which to lean on in difficult moments or with which to wear our best dress and dance without an umbrella in the rain of happiness.
Pillars who love us even when we make mistakes, who chase away the darkness as much as it may seem impossible, who know the most imperfect version of us and still keep us by their side, who guard us, who take care of us, who give us a sigh.
Because building a relationship that enriches and gives warmth is largely possible only if the wings of others want to fly by our side and if they want to nurture the complicity of a pure and sincere love that does not know selfishness.
